free

Temple of Peace and Health, Cardiff

1 March 2018, 1-8pm

To celebrate St. David’s Day, the Temple of Peace and Health in Cardiff is opening its doors for a series of free events exploring its 80-year history. Designed by former RIBA President Percy Thomas and opened in 1938, this beautiful building retains many of its original furnishings.

In 2016, the successful campaign to stop A-level Art History being dropped demonstrated the enthusiasm for art history among students, artists and educators across the UK. Yet the future of art history in all its forms – whether in schools, universities, libraries, galleries, arts centres or community groups – remains uncertain.

If, as the artist Jeremy Deller has argued, ‘Art history is the study of power, politics, identity and humanity’, the study and appreciation of art is more vital than ever in the tumultuous 21st century. In Wales, art history is inextricably linked with the political: the lack of critical attention has led to Welsh artists being marginalised or excluded from the canon altogether. How can art history in Wales work to recover movements, groups, individuals or works that have been lost? How can it consider, contextualise and celebrate Wales’s rich and diverse art history, bringing it to new audiences? What are the shared experiences with other humanities subjects (such as literary studies), and what can these disciplines learn from each other?

Join us for a free roundtable discussion with leading artists, curators and historians to discuss the future of Welsh art history/art history in Wales.